Words / C1

in-VAL-id-ayt/ɪnˈvælɪdeɪt/

To invalidate is to make something legally or logically no longer valid: invalidate a sitting, invalidate a finding. Valid (already in the dictionary) sits opposite; validate (already in the dictionary) is the confirming twin. Glossy packs do not save an unnamed invigilator.

Meaning

To make something legally or logically no longer valid.

Examples

• “A sitting without a named invigilator will invalidate the paper, however glossy the pack.”
• “Nullify is the legal twin. Void is a cousin. A pack is branding. A named seat is a rota. Name the invigilator; then print the pack.”

Good to know

Make no longer valid. Opposite: valid (already in the dictionary). Glossy packs ≠ a named invigilator.

Near in meaning

nullify, void, annul

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